Welcome to the August newsletter
In mid-July the GMT project reached a major milestone: the start of excavation on the site for the foundations for the telescope's pier and enclosure, and for the primary mirror coating chamber. The rock comprising Las Campanas peak is extremely hard and so a hydraulic hammer is needed to break up the rock before it is collected by a backhoe and hauled away. The entire excavation process is expected to take around 5 months as we remove roughly 5,000 cubic meters of material.
We have recently achieved another significant milestone with the release of the 2018 GMT Science Book that describes GMT's strengths and its promise for scientific discovery. Spearheaded by the GMT Project Scientist, this spectacular publication was written by GMT's Science Advisory Committee and by scientists from around the world.
Finally, GMT has begun working with the Thirty Meter Telescope and the National Science Foundation's National Optical Astronomy Observatory to articulate a community-based science program for presentation to the next Decadal Survey of Astronomy and Astrophysics, which got underway this past month.
Also in this newsletter we profile Barbara Fischer, a new mechanical engineering manager focused on the primary mirror support system, and we describe how the wavefront sensing and control team tested a prototype of the mirror phasing camera on the Magellan Clay telescope. Lastly, you can read about our time at SPIE: Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, and the fun we had exhibiting at "AstroFest 2018".
Remember you can always keep up to date with what's happening at GMTO from our website, gmto.org, or from our presence on social media.
-Dr. Patrick McCarthy |
Excavation begins on GMT site
On August 14, GMTO announced the start of hard rock excavation for the Giant Magellan Telescope's massive concrete pier and the foundations for the telescope's enclosure on its site at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile. The work is being performed by Minería y Montajes Conpax, a construction services company that has previously performed site work for other observatories in Chile. Using a combination of hydraulic drilling and hammering, the excavation work is expected to take about five months to complete.
Read more...
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Developing a science vision for the Astronomy and Astrophysics 2020 Decadal Survey
In May, GMTO, the Thirty Meter Telescope International Observatory (TIO) and the National Science Foundation's National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) announced a collaboration to articulate a community-based science program for presentation to the next Decadal Survey of Astronomy and Astrophysics.
Access to both the northern and southern hemisphere's sky with extremely large telescopes (ELTs) having the capabilities of the GMT and the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) will provide unique scientific opportunities in the coming decade and beyond. We look forward to working with our colleagues in the GMT, TMT, and NOAO communities to develop the science case for the two telescopes for the upcoming Decadal Survey.
For more information please visit the US ELT Program website.
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2018 GMT Science Book released
We are pleased to announce that the 2018 Science Book describing the GMT's strengths and its potential for scientific discovery is now released and available for download as a pdf.
The book is divided into nine chapters that describe the transformative impact that GMT will have on areas spanning observational astrophysics - from exoplanets around neighboring stars to the formation of the first stars, galaxies, and black holes in the universe. The first chapter provides a technical overview of the GMT itself, explaining its unique design and capabilities, including the first-generation instrument suite that has been chosen to maximize the GMT's scientific impact during early operations.
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Phasing the GMT mirrors: prototype testing at Magellan
In May of this year, a team of scientists from GMTO, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, and the University of Arizona took a prototype of the GMT phasing camera to the 6.5 meter Magellan Clay telescope for testing. The heart of the phasing sensor is the Dispersed Fringe Sensor (DFS) - a set of prisms that spread the light that falls on adjacent primary mirror segments into its constituent colors. When installed on the GMT, the DFS will be able to detect whether the GMT's seven mirrors are in phase - i.e. whether the edge of one mirror is a fraction of a light wave higher or lower than its neighbor.
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Profile: Barbara Fischer
Primary Mirror Subsystem Manager
We are pleased to welcome Barbara Fischer to the GMT team. Barbara is the lead engineer for GMT's primary mirror subsystem. For this newsletter, she answered some questions about her life and career.
What is your role with GMTO?
I have assumed the responsibility of leading the primary mirror positioning, support, and thermal environment systems development team. They are currently undergoing prototype development of the actuators, positioners and control system, and manufacturing of the test cell weldment. Next year, the team will start integration of the test cell to a challenging schedule and budget. The success of the test cell is crucial for ensuring that GMT has a sound support system for the primary mirror, the design is qualified for production and validation of the mount interfaces.
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GMTO attends SPIE: Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation 2018
In June, a number of GMTO engineers attended SPIE: Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation 2018 in Austin, TX to present their work to their peers. Project Manager James Fanson gave a well-received project status talk; the Site, Enclosure and Facilities lead, Bruce Bigelow, jointly hosted a meeting on enclosure design; and Instrument Manager Adam Contos and Instrument Scientist Rafael Millan-Gabet organized a splinter meeting for all the instrument teams across the GMTO partnership.
GMTO also hosted a booth in the exhibit hall and took part in the job fair. Check out our current job openings on GMTO's employment page.
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GMTO exhibits at the City of Astronomy's AstroFest 2018
GMTO exhibited at the City of Astronomy's AstroFest 2018 in Pasadena in July. This family-friendly and free event welcomed over 2,700 people, including the Mayor of Pasadena, Terry Tornek. GMTO's volunteers enjoyed showing visitors our virtual reality system, the 3D model of the central mirror and our ever-popular hologram. Read more in our blog.
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